Copying errors that occur during the manufacture of artifactual traditions are potentially a major source of variation. It has been proposed that material items produced via “additive” processes (e.g., pottery) will possess less variation than traditions produced via “reductive” processes (e.g., stone knapping). The logic of this premise is that “additive” production methods more readily allow for the reversal of copying errors compared to strictly “reductive-only” processes. Here, we tested this hypothesis in shape data using an experimental framework in which we generated and statistically analyzed morphometry (size-adjusted) shape data under controlled and replicable conditions. Participants engaged in one of two alternative conditions: an irreversible (“reductive-only”) manufacturing process or a reversible (“additive-reductive”) process. With a number of factors held constant, participants were required to copy the shape of a “target form” as accurately as possible using a standardized block of plasticine and a steel table knife. Results demonstrated statistically greater levels of shape-copying errors in the replicas produced in the reductive-only condition. This indicates that “mutation rates” in the shape attributes of artifactual traditions produced via reductive processes are inherently greater than those produced via alternative means. Several implications for the study of variation in artifactual traditions are discussed.

Recent estimates of when Hawai’i was colonized by Polynesians display considerable variability, with dates ranging from about A.D. 800 to 1250. Using high resolution paleoenvironmental coring data and a carefully defined set of archaeological radiocarbon dates, a Bayesian model for initial settlement was constructed. The pollen and charcoal assemblages of the core record made it possible to identify and date the prehuman period and also the start of human settlement using a simple depositional model. The archaeological and paleoenvironmental estimates of the colonization date show a striking convergence, indicating that initial settlement occurred at A.D. 940–1130 at a 95 percent highest posterior density region (HPD), and most probably between A.D. 1000 to 1100, using a 67 percent HPD. This analysis highlights problems that may occur when paleoenvironmental core chronologies are based on bulk soil dates. Further research on the dating of the bones of Rattus exulans, a Polynesian introduction, may refine the dating model, as would archaeological investigations focused on potential early site locations.

The timing of the arrival of the bow and arrow in the New World and reasons for its adoption have long been discussed by archaeologists. It typically has been assumed that the bow and arrow provided mechanical and physical advantages over the atlatl and dart, particularly in long-range killing power. This experimental study examines the effectiveness of traditional bows and arrows to deliver lethal wounds to prey species of different sizes. The results suggest that the bow and arrow was effective in hunting prey species such as antelope and deer but ineffective in bringing down larger animals unless changes in hunting strategies were adopted. In contrast, the atlatl and dart would have excelled in large game hunting. It is proposed that the adoption of the bow and arrow and the abandonment of the atlatl and dart were conditioned by their distinct performance advantages and changes in the game species targeted over time.

Four-part figures equal cyclic completion in ancient Mesoamerica, but they do not necessarily correspond to the cardinal directions; they refer, rather, to four-place cycles within the apparent annual path of the sun. The earliest excavated Maya example of such a quadripartite diagram in architectural form is Structure E-VII Sub at Uaxactun, which was part of a solar observatory. Later this E Group at Uaxactun was used for katun celebration. It is suggested that in Early Classic times Mexicans introduced to central Peten a type of celebration of solar cycles observed at Teotihuacan. This new ritual was rapidly Mayanized and institutionalized as the celebration of katuns or 20-year periods. The iconography of katun celebration emphasizes quadripartition and the rainy, stormy sky symbolism of the agricultural year as expressed in Tlaloc ritual at Teotihuacan. Katun celebration probably also served to undermine the original dynastic significance of the ancient Maya Long Count and thus enhanced the public ritual role of the new Mexican elite.

Species of wood used for fuel changed significantly through time at a large Anasazi village in southwestern Colorado occupied from about A.D. 750 to 900. Changes also occurred in other records of plant use from this site, in the fauna utilized, and in the proportional representation of hafted tools. These and corroborating data from nearby sites suggest that the Anasazi occupation of the Dolores River valley and vicinity resulted in significant local deforestation. Anasazi settlement and mobility practices were affected by climate, human impact on the environment, and regional population densities.

Middle Archaic earthen mound complexes in the lower Mississippi valley are remote antecedents of the famous but much younger Poverty Point earthworks. Watson Brake is the largest and most complex of these early mound sites. Very extensive coring and stratigraphic studies, aided by 25 radiocarbon dates and six luminescence dates, show that minor earthworks were begun here at ca. 3500 B.C. in association with an oval arrangement of burned rock middens at the edge of a stream terrace. The full extent of the first earthworks is not yet known. Substantial moundraising began ca. 3350 B.C. and continued in stages until some time after 3000 B.C. when the site was abandoned. All 11 mounds and their connecting ridges were occupied between building bursts. Soils formed on some of these temporary surfaces, while lithics, fire-cracked rock, and fired clay/loam objects became scattered throughout the mound fills. Faunal and floral remains from a basal midden indicate all-season occupation, supported by broad-spectrum foraging centered on nuts, fish, and deer. All the overlying fills are so acidic that organics have not survived. The area enclosed by the mounds was kept clean of debris, suggesting its use as ritual space. The reasons why such elaborate activities first occurred here remain elusive. However, some building bursts covary with very well-documented increases in El Niño/Southern Oscillation events. During such rapid increases in ENSO frequencies, rainfall becomes extremely erratic and unpredictable. It may be that early moundraising was a communal response to new stresses of droughts and flooding that created a suddenly more unpredictable food base.

Results of chemical analyses on residues collected from ceramic vessels found in an Early Classic period Maya tomb revealed that certain of the residues contained theobromine and caffeine, a clear indication that the corresponding vessels once contained cacao in some form. One of the vessels yielding cacao residues is decorated with hieroglyphs, two of which we believe have the phonetic values for the word “cacao” in the Mayan language. These findings are significant for three reasons: (1) a new method for recognizing ancient cacao use is demonstrated, (2) a novel way of verifying glyph interpretations is presented, and (3) data are generated that indicate what contents certain Maya vessels actually held, thus permitting useful functional interpretations.

An archaeological survey of 17 vacant lots in Tucson, Arizona, was carried out as a student exercise. The survey disclosed evidence for a recurrent set of activities: travel from place to place, refuse disposal, storage, automobile-related uses, adult and children"s play, camping, and various removal processes. Hypotheses about several formation processes, especially trampling, are provided. It is argued that vacant lots are a distinctive kind of activity area involving public use of private space, present in all cities, whose archaeological study may shed light on past urban systems.

Based on a simple model of lithic procurement, reduction, and use, we generate predictions for patterns in source diversity and average distance-to-source measurements for flaked stone assemblages left behind by small-scale and residentially mobile populations. We apply this model to geochemical data from obsidian artifacts from three regions in western North America. As predicted, results show markedly different patterns in the geochemical composition of small flakes, large flakes, and formal tools. While small flakes and tools tend to have greater source diversity and are on average farther from their original source, the large flake assemblage is composed of fewer and closer sources. These results suggest that a failure to include very late stage reduction (e.g., pressure flakes) and microdebitage in characterization studies may bias interpretations about the extent of residential mobility and/or trade patterns because more distant sources will be underrepresented.

Variation in the forms of Mousterian tools has been attributed to a number of factors, including style, function, and more recently, differential reduction. This study compares the influences of two factors, reduction and the shapes of tool blanks, on the forms of scrapers from a Mousterian site in Italy. In the subject assemblages, the shapes of the tool blanks had a much stronger influence on scraper forms than had reduction. To the extent that blank form affects typology in other cases, explanations of contrasts among Mousterian assemblages would need to account for the use of alternative techniques of flake production. Since typological variation is multicausal, it would also appear more profitable to focus directly on variables pertinent to current research issues, rather than on reinterpreting the typology.

Edge-angle measurements from 1,448 Paleo-Indian stone artifacts are presented. The relationships between edge-angle size and differential functional applications are explored. Differences in angle size distributions are found to characterize distal and lateral edges. General categories of functional effectiveness are suggested for different angle size ranges. The utilized edges of tools with different angle sizes are found to exhibit different types of wear, and these differences are considered to be indicative of different functional operations.

Point Conception, California, has long been recognized as an environmental transition zone for both terrestrial and marine life forms occupying central and southern California. Recent archaeological investigations above and below Point Conception have revealed a number of differences in the archaeological records of the respective regions. Late Period coastal middens north of Point Conception contain higher densities of shellfish remains and smaller quantities of fish and sea mammal remains than coastal midden deposits along the Santa Barbara Channel to the east, where Late Period sites contain substantial quantities of fish and sea mammal remains. These differences in the archaeological records appear to be determined, in large part, by differences in the relative resource abundances in the two regions. However, to understand more completely the variability in subsistence strategies, one must go beyond simply documenting differences in food resource abundance in the environment. It is proposed that the economics of resource exploitation must be considered in the formulation of any adequate explanation of resource variability.

Laboratory and experimental studies of glazed polish (corn gloss) on sickle edges, trillo teeth, hoe blades, and mealing stones indicate that this polish is analogous to modern lapidary polishes which are produced as submicroscopic frictional fusion zones by rubbing with soft powders. Frictional contact with opaline inclusions in grasses has produced corn gloss by fusion of flint surfaces and by fusion to them of dehydrated molecules of opal. The one-to-one equation of corn gloss to grasses has many implications to culture history. Among others, a previously unsuspected type of intense agriculture, closely adapted to conservation of prairie soils, is indicated for Hopewell, Middle Mississippi, and other American Indian cultures.

Dust Cave (1Lu496) is a habitation site in a karstic vestibule in the middle Tennessee River Valley of Northern Alabama. The cave, periodically occupied over 7,000 years, contains well-preserved bone and botanical materials and exhibits microstratigraphy and intact occupation surfaces. The chronostratigraphic framework for Dust Cave is based on 43 14C dates, temporally diagnostic artifacts, and detailed geoarchaeological analysis. In a broad sense, five cultural components are defined and designated: Quad/Beaver Lake/Dalton (10,650–9200 cal B.C.), Early Side-Notched (10,000–9000 cal B.C.), Kirk Stemmed (8200–5800 cal B.C.), Eva/Morrow Mountain (6400 to 4000 cal B.C.), and Benton (4500–3600 cal B.C.). Microstratigraphic and artifact analyses indicate that the primary differences in the deposits over time relate to intensity of activity and spatial organization with regard to changing conditions in the cave, not to the types of activities. Geomorphic transformations influenced the timing of occupation at Dust Cave, especially the initial occupation. The chronostratigraphy provides a framework for assessing the stratigraphic separation of Dalton and Early Side-Notched materials, the shift in technology from blades to bifacial tools, and the context of detailed flora and fauna evidence. These remains provide unique insights into forager adaptations in the Midsouth from the end of the Pleistocene through the first half of the Holocene.

Surveys and excavations conducted within the Savannah River watershed in recent years have yielded a wealth of information about organization and adaptive strategies of Early Archaic populations, both within the drainage and across the region. Specifically, excavations at Rucker's Bottom (9EB91) and the G. S. Lewis site (38AK228) have yielded large, complementary assemblages indicating watershed-extensive adaptation employing a mixed collector-forager strategy. Comparative analyses with assemblages from the surrounding region document an extensive use of expedient technologies, instead of the more formalized technologies thought to characterize the period. Analyses of local and regional resource structure, theoretical arguments about biocultural needs of hunter-gatherer populations, and evidence from the archaeological record, suggest that large drainage systems served subsistence/resource needs, while biocultural interaction (i.e., information and mating networks) operated both along and across watershed boundaries. A model of Early Archaic settlement is proposed, based on band/macroband mobility and interaction, that is thought to partially account for the variation from this period found on the South Atlantic Slope.

The cave recently discovered underneath the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico, is analyzed both according to historical written sources and reports of cults to cave deities, prominent in Mexico for millennia. Different cave rites are discussed in an effort to determine the function of the grotto. The Teotihuacan cave is compared with the mythical Chicomoztoc, Seven Caves, place of creation in ancient Mexican mythology. The author suggests that the cavern may have determined the site for the building of the Pyramid of the Sun and that later Aztec accounts of rulers being buried underneath the pyramid may have been based upon fact.

The central Mesa Verde and the northern Rio Grande regions housed two of the densest populations of prehispanic Pueblo peoples in the North American Southwest. We plot incidence of violent trauma on human bone through time in each region. Such violence peaked in the mid-A.D. 1100s in the central Mesa Verde, and in general was higher through time there than in the northern Rio Grande region. In the central Mesa Verde, but not in the northern Rio Grande, there is a tendency for violence to be greater in periods of low potential maize produccción per capita and high variance in maize produccción, though these structural tendencies were on occasion overridden by historical factors such as the expansion and demise of the Chacoan polity and the regional depopulation. Violence generally declined through time in the northern Rio Grande until the arrival of the Spanish, even as populations increased. We propose that this decline was due to the combination of increased social span of polities, the importance of inter-Pueblo sodalities, the nature of religious practice, “gentle commerce,“ and increased adherence to a set of nonviolent norms.

Different hypotheses identifying factors affecting the complexity of implements used to obtain food resources by hunter-gatherer groups are assessed with regression analysis. A regression model based on interaction between growing season as a proxy measure for risk and number of yearly moves fits data on the complexity of implements for 20 hunter-gatherer groups. The interaction model leads to a division of hunter-gatherer groups into two subgroups that correspond to collector vs. forager strategies for procuring resources. Implications of the interaction model for the evolution of complex implements are discussed.

Methods for recognition of site formation processes are slowly being developed. Ethnoarchaeological data on refuse disposal suggest that comparison of the distribution of large and small objects across a site may be an interpretive method because size is often a factor in determining whether an object becomes primary or secondary refuse. To test this in the field, I carried out microdebitage analysis on soil samples from a stone circle site in the Northern Plains. Comparison of the microdebitage and macroflake distributions indicates the utility of microdebitage analysis for study of use and disposal in lithic tool manufacture areas.

The Solutrean techno-complex of southern France and the Iberian Peninsula is an impossible candidate as the “source” for either pre-Clovis or Clovis traditions in North America. Primarily this is because the Solutrean ended ca. 16,500-18,000 B.P. (at least 5,000 years before Clovis appeared) and was separated from the U.S. eastern seaboard by 5,000 km of ocean. In addition, there are major differences between the Solutrean and Clovis (and even more between it and “pre-Clovis”) in terms of the composition of lithic and osseous technologies and with regard to evidence of artistic activity. Nor is there any evidence that Solutrean people had navigation, deep-sea fishing, or marine mammal hunting capacities which could have made a transatlantic crossing even conceivable. Furthermore, there is no evidence that people lived above about 48° N latitude in western Europe during the Last Glacial Maximum, making a “jumping-off” point from the (then largely glaciated) area of the current British Isles unlikely. The peopling of the Americas, even if the result of several “migrations,” was from Asia.